Hardy heads to Twins for Gomez

[PurpleMustReign]

MILWAUKEE -- J.J. Hardy has been traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Carlos Gomez.
The teams announced the deal on Friday.

Hardy, a shortstop, hit .229 last season with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. He had a combined 50 home runs in 2007 and 2008.

He has a career batting average of .262 with 75 home runs and 265 RBIs in 571 games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4629260

This surprises me. I thought Gomez had some upside, I just thought he would be better off in AAA for awhile.
I hope Bill Smith doesn't think this is the answer for their infield though. JJ Hardy doesn't have much for career numbers.

[PurpleMustReign]

Also, Jermaine Dye was released. I have always liked him. He'd be a good pickup. Of course we have too many outfielders already.

[Minniman]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4629260

This surprises me. I thought Gomez had some upside, I just thought he would be better off in AAA for awhile.
I hope Bill Smith doesn't think this is the answer for their infield though. JJ Hardy doesn't have much for career numbers.

So much for Gomez being the cornerstone of the Santana trade.

Yeah, Gomez needed to go down to AAA and bat every day. I wonder if he had any options left. I would assume so because of his age.

The Twins are basically going to install Hardy, a low percentage hitter with some pop, for a .275 career hitter in free agent Orlando Cabrera. Take THAT New York Yankees.

Actually, if Hardy can return to his 2006-2007 form, and hit about .280 with 25 home runs, it would be a good trade for the Twins. The Twins could re-sign Cabrera and move Hardy to third base. The Twins need some power at third base, and Hardy may not be enough.

Hardy comes with a $4.65 million contract for this season, as a player that was demoted to AAA last August.

[HornedMessiah]

I think it's a good move for both teams. Hardy is still young and already has been an All-Star. The fact that he might have a weak bat is a little disappointing though, because I'm frickin' sick of having guys that are good in the field but horrible at the plate. He seems to have the potential to be a decent hitter though and an every-day guy, certainly moreso than Gomez ever was.

This is pretty much an admission that the Santana trade was an absolute and total failure for the Twins. Soooo depressing....trade away the best starting pitcher in the league for a bunch of crap.

In other Twins news, they picked up Cuddyer's option and he'll be with the team through the 2011 season, at least. Pretty much a no brainer there. He stepped up in a big way late in the season when Morneau went down and was a big contributor to winning the division.

I also see that the Jays are still considering trading Halladay. Any remote chance that the Twins make a play for him?

[Demi]

I also see that the Jays are still considering trading Halladay. Any remote chance that the Twins make a play for him?

Maybe work out a trade involving Hallady and a certain canadian on the roster?